Fix a Heart
by cryinginsideout
Summary: She affected all others around her, especially him. Quietly touching his lone heart, she saved him from himself. / Drabble-esque / PROMPT 9: She had a way of turning obstacles into opportunities. Celebrate her magic. Kakashi watches on the sidelines as Sakura aces the ANBU exams with flying colors.
1. Passion

**Title:** Fix a Heart

**Summary:** She affected all others around her, especially him. Quietly touching his lone heart, she saved him from himself. Drabble-esque.

**Author:** CryingInsideOut

**Rating:** T/PG-13

**Genre: **Romance

**Pairing:** kakasaku

**Word Count: **539

**Disclaimer: **I do not own_ Naruto_ nor the prompts. Thank you Kobi Yamada for writing the wonderful book _She..._ and inspiring me to write these blurbs about kakasaku.

**Prompt #1: She loved life and it loved her right back. Celebrate her passion.**

* * *

No matter what grueling A-Rank mission Sakura had been summoned on, she always completed her duties as Konoha's top medic. She disregarded her own safety just to make sure her fallen teammate would eventually get back up on his feet.

So when Konoha's newly promoted Jounin ("Congratulations, Sakura!" Kakashi had drawled while clinking his beer glass with Sakura's tea glass) had been summoned by the Godaime Hokage to an A-Rank possibly S-Rank mission, Sakura tightened her hitai-ate, slipped on her worn-out gloves, and strapped on her medical pouch.

Making sure all of the lights were turned off, she locked her empty apartment. She then sped towards the gates of Konoha to meet up with a certain loud-mouth blond and her always late ex-sensei.

As always, Kakashi took his sweet time standing in a slouched position over the memorial stone. He reached out his fingerless gloved hand and traced the cool marble surface, tracing the name that would always be forever etched in the memorial stone. _'Uchiha Obito, the black sheep of the Uchiha Clan.'_

Kakashi's lone visible eye flickered over to his other teammate's name, and behind his mask was a slight scowl. He had promised Obito, didn't he? And yet somehow he had managed to break the promise and lose Rin. And his sensei. Kami, his sensei. He didn't even know what had happened except the fact that Minato, or better known as the Yondaime Hokage – Konoha's Yellow Flash to enemies – had sacrificed his life for the village. A true hero, Kakashi had labeled.

Sighing, Kakashi ran a hand through his already messy silver hair and stuck his hand back into his pocket.

"I'm going on an A-Rank mission. Tsunade-sama also said it might possibly turn into an S-Rank if we run into Sasuke or the Akatsuki. I hope it gets bloody. Maybe I might end up with you, Rin, and Sensei if I'm lucky." With a reluctant sigh, Kakashi adds, "I'm already late. Sakura and Naruto are probably mad at me. Ja, Obito." In a puff of smoke and scattered green leaves, Kakashi disappeared.

"Yo! Sorry I'm late. Today a flock of ravens passed by me, and I thought it was Itachi so I was prepared to fi– "

"Liar!" Naruto and Sakura screamed at the same time. Kakashi smiled underneath his mask.

"My, my, Sakura. Your first mission as a Jounin. So how does it feel?" Kakashi asked as Team Kakashi walked past the bridge and out the Konoha gates.

"Well, it feels great to finally be Jounin and be appreciated by many others, so I love it!" She gave him a bright smile, her viridian eyes sparkling happily. She had turned out to be quite the beauty where almost every shinobi in Konoha chased after her, yet she was oblivious to it all.

"That's good to hear," he began while flashing her an eye-crinkling smile. "If you love life, it'll love you right back."

"You're right!" Sakura giggled, unconsciously scooting closer to the copy ninja. Kakashi's free hand that wasn't in his pocket brushed against Sakura's own soft skin.

And so he told Obito that today he wouldn't be careless on the mission, and vowed to protect his comrades, specifically a newly promoted pink-haired Jounin.

* * *

**Hello beautiful people. (:**

**I present to the kakasaku community a 24 chapter drabble. Each chapter is going to have a prompt that the 1k word or less chapter is going to revolve around. I hope you enjoy, and thank you so much for reading. **

**x**


	2. Wisdom

**Title:** Fix a Heart

**Summary:** She affected all others around her, especially him. Quietly touching his lone heart, she saved him from himself. Drabble-esque.

**Author:** CryingInsideOut

**Rating:** T/PG-13

**Genre: **Romance

**Pairing:** kakasaku

**Word Count: **599

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _Naruto _nor the prompts. Thank you Kobi Yamada for writing the wonderful book _She..._ and inspiring me to write these blurbs about kakasaku.

**Prompt #2: She listened to her heart above all the other voices. Celebrate her wisdom**.

* * *

"Sakura! Watch out!" Kakashi yelled, whipping out a kunai. He sent it whizzing towards the Kumo nin who was about to send a painful punch to Sakura's head. Sakura's eyes widened as she heard the heavy thud. Dispelling chakra from her fists, she turned around to face Kakashi.

Kakashi's hitai-ate was slipped above his eye, revealing his Sharingan. He already had a few slashes across his Jounin vest from carelessness. His eyebrows furrowed in total concentration as he weaved through a series of hand seals, resulting in his special jutsu: _Raikiri_. His hand plunged mercilessly into the Kumo shinobi he had been fighting. The Kumo nin's eyes widened as he felt the copy nin's hand curl around his heart.

'_Fuck…'_ was the last thing that ran through his mind as he threw up blood. Eyes rolling back and legs giving in, he fell to the floor in a bloody mess as Kakashi withdrew his hand.

Sakura's viridian eyes widened more as she ducked just in time to dodge the genjutsu aimed for her head. She whirled around and found a Kumo kunoichi with a scowl on her face.

"You bitch!" she spat out. Sakura continued to dodge the kicks and punches thrown at her. "You killed my teammate!" Sakura gasped in pain as she received a kick to her stomach, sending her flying backwards. Her back hit into a tree, the impact enough to cause the wood to splinter, not even breaking her fall by a little.

"Sakura!"

"Naruto," she whimpered. The loud-mouthed Kyuubi vessel had been bed-written as he battled a nasty cold. Instead, Tsunade had sent Sakura and Kakashi on the mission alone. She missed him. She missed his _Kage Bushins_ and his loud yet stupid remarks and taunts. _'Naruto…'_

"Sakura, wake up." She found it hard to open her eyes, and when she did, her vision was blurry and she found it hard to breathe. "Sakura, run." She had a concussion, Kakashi noted.

"What?" she hissed in pain as Kakashi slowly helped her up. The kunoichi had been knocked out with a genjutsu, Sakura noticed.

"Hurry back to the village. I have things under control."

"Why send such a pretty little girl back? I want to play with her." Sakura and Kakashi froze as they heard the taunting laugh. Kakashi scowled under his mask as he turned around, placing hand over his slightly bloody student.

"Leave her alone. You're _my_ opponent, bastard." The Kumo nin's lips curled into a sadistic smirk.

And so this was how Sakura ended up sobbing over Kakashi's chest. Apparently the opponent had been stronger than Kakashi had assumed. And since Kakashi had overused his Sharigan a lot more than needed, he was collapsed on the floor, clutching his eye and chakra exhausted.

"K-kakashi," she cried, not caring that her tears dripped onto her ex-sensei's face. If only she had enough chakra to heal his wounds, she thought with remorse.

"Don't cry, Sakura. Go back to the village," he murmured, forcing a smile. "Go to the hospital. Heal your–"

"No! I won't _leave_ you!" she screamed back through angry tears. No matter what the Shinobi Rules said about completing the mission and abandoning his comrades, Sakura didn't give a shit about it right now. Screw the rules!

"Those who break the rules are scum. But those who abandon their friends in times of need are worse than scum," she recited through choked sobs.

Kakashi didn't know if it was her concussion talking or what, but his heart swelled with pride, because she listened to her heart above all the other voices.

* * *

**Hello beautiful people! (:**

**I told myself I was going to upload a new prompt/chapter every Friday, so here it is. Even though I'm only thirty minutes away from Saturday.**

**Oops.**

**Next prompt/chapter will be uploaded earlier next Friday.**

**Thanks so much for reading, and if you're enjoying the story so far (and reading this nonsense), leave the secret word **WISDOM **in your review.**

**x**


	3. Priorities

**Title:** Fix a Heart

**Summary:** She affected all others around her, especially him. Quietly touching his lone heart, she saved him from himself. Drabble-esque.

**Author:** CryingInsideOut

**Rating:** T/PG-13

**Genre: **Romance

**Pairing:** kakasaku

**Word Count: **577

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _Naruto _nor the prompts. Thank you Kobi Yamada for writing the wonderful book _She..._ and inspiring me to write these blurbs about kakasaku.

**Prompt #3: She pursued her big dreams instead of small realities. Celebrate her priorities.**

* * *

Kakashi let out a muffled groan as his student's glowing hand set his dislocated shoulder back in place.

"Holy shit that hurt! You obviously have no mercy for your poor Sensei," Kakashi cursed and hissed in pain, watching warily as Sakura pulled her hand back. Her shamrock eyes seemed to sparkle sadistically.

"Hmm? What did you say, Kaka-sensei?" The coral-haired girl cracked her knuckles, her voice daring him to say more.

"Well," Kakashi drawled, suddenly feeling the atmosphere tense as the medic's attitude grew cold and malicious. "So when can I be discharged?" he asked, quickly changing the subject.

"You just got your shoulder set back in place, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura deadpanned. "It'll be at least three days until you can leave the hospital."

"Dang it," Kakashi sighed and tried to find a more comfortable position. Sensing his discomfort, Sakura gently lifted his head and fluffed his pillow before allowing his head to rest better. "Thanks, Sakura-chan!" An eye-crinkling smile was flashed at Sakura, and the medic just had to crack a smile at the honorific added at the end of her name. It brought comfort and made her feel safe, like no one in the world can tear and tug at her paper heart.

After trying and failing to retrieve Sasuke over and over again, Sakura's heart kept breaking over and over again. Failed missions over and over again forced Sakura to re-tape and glue the ripped up pieces of her heart over and over again, no matter how wary she became.

"Sakura." Kakashi had suddenly said her name in such a somber way that it startled the kunoichi. Giving her attention to her Sensei, she hummed in response to show that she was listening. Sakura had never noticed how built Kakashi was in his old ANBU undergarments. She silently admired the ANBU tattoo on his shoulder and traced the swirls with her eyes.

"Sakura?" Kakashi asked again. His eyebrows knitted with worry as his pupil seemed to snap back to reality.

"O-oh, sorry. Pardon?" she stuttered, trying hard to force the redness on her cheeks away.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair before repeating, "You do know that Naruto and I are sorry, right? That we couldn't get Sasuke back?" His charcoal eye was filled with sadness when he realized he couldn't even please one of his pupils without failing over and over again.

Sakura forced a smile and gave a miniscule shrug. She reached out and clasped her small hand on top of Kakashi's bigger ones. Bold move, she thought, but she couldn't help herself. This was so wrong, but she did it anyway. She ran her thumb soothingly across Kakashi's knuckles.

"That's okay," she whispered. "Ino... She told me to give up on Sasuke. But I just can't. He's Naruto's best friend. He's your student. He's my teammate – _our_ teammate. He's a part of Team 7. Tsunade-shishou always told me to pursue big dreams instead of small realities, and I believe in that."

Instead of the Sakura that used to cry over Sasuke, now sat a young, mature woman with the same ridiculous hair color and sparkling shamrock eyes in front of Kakashi. Letting a genuine smile grace his face beneath his mask, Kakashi nodded, silently twining their fingers. So wrong. So, _so_ wrong. But he didn't care because she didn't pull away.

So Kakashi promises; he promises to try his best to make Sakura's dreams come true.

* * *

**Hello beautiful people! (:**

**Happy Friday! Hope you guys had a wonderful week, loves.**

**I didn't necessarily love what I wrote for this prompt. I felt like I could've done better, but I decided to just leave it as it is. Sorry if it isn't up to par. **

**BUT**

**Thanks so much for reading, and if you're enjoying the story so far (and reading this nonsense), leave the secret word **PRIORITIES **in your review.**

**x**


	4. Resiliency

**Title:** Fix a Heart

**Summary:** She affected all others around her, especially him. Quietly touching his lone heart, she saved him from himself. Drabble-esque.

**Author:** CryingInsideOut

**Rating:** T/PG-13

**Genre: **Romance

**Pairing:** kakasaku

**Word Count: **608

**Note: **This chapter is slight AU.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _Naruto _nor the prompts. Thank you Kobi Yamada for writing the wonderful book _She..._ and inspiring me to write these blurbs about kakasaku.

**Prompt #4: She ****saw every ending as a new beginning. Celebrate her resiliency.**

* * *

When Sakura was twelve-years-old, she adored her long hair. She loved the feeling of it swishing against her waist as she ran laps around the training grounds. The kunoichi took great care and pride in her shiny mane, making sure to brush it 100 times each day, morning and night.

"Ano, Sakura-chan, you're shedding all over me," a twelve-year-old Naruto mumbled as he plucked a long, fine strand of pink hair off his orange jumpsuit. Sakura sighed as she watched Sasuke scrunch his eyebrows all while using his chopsticks to discard the pink hair in his rice bowl. Kakashi-sensei shook his head as well.

"You have such nice hair, Sakura, but doesn't it get in the way when you fight?" Kakashi asked. "Maybe it's time you chopped it all off," he joked. When Sakura stuck out her tongue, he merely laughed and patted her head.

During the chuunin exams, Sakura had chopped off her hair in an attempt to save herself as well as her unconscious teammates. As hair fluttered everywhere, she didn't look back. She decided that it was an act of her growing up, physically and mentally.

When Sasuke left the village, Sakura cried her eyes out. Months passed, and eventually, the little blossom grew up to become a blooming flower. She trained hard in hopes of catching up with Naruto and Sasuke. She vowed that she and Naruto would be the ones to bring back their missing teammate. Within those months, Sakura grew out her hair once again.

"What the hell?" Kakashi mumbled as he plucked a long strand of pink hair out of his ramen noodles. He glanced at Sakura accusingly, who giggled nervously as she reminisced back to her genin days. "Is it time to chop off your hair once more?" he asked, half-teasing and half-serious. He enjoyed watching the now seventeen-year-old kunoichi huff at him.

"In your dreams, Kaka-sensei! There's no way I'm cutting it off once more." She swept her bangs out of her eyes delicately, a small smile adorning her face.

"Why not?" Kakashi asked out of curiosity.

"Because Sasuke-kun likes girls with long hair," she whispered more to herself than to her companion.

For the rest of the meal, Kakashi kept quiet, her words repeating over and over again in his mind. He decided that he was finished with his untouched meal, suddenly losing his appetite. "The Sakura with short hair made me realize how much she'd grown up – physically and mentally." He pushed back his stool and left a stunned Sakura behind at Ichiraku's as he walked away without another word.

The next day, Kakashi waited impatiently with Naruto at the training grounds. He was already thirty minutes late into their training, but Sakura was even later than he was.

"What's taking Sakura-chan so long?" Naruto complained loudly, puffing up his cheeks in a childish manner. Before Kakashi could answer, a sweet voice interrupted.

"Sorry I'm late! I had to do something at the last minute."

"Sakura-chan?!" Naruto screeched. Upon hearing Naruto's yelp, his eyes left his orange book and laid upon a familiar faced kunoichi. He watched as she gave him a smile she reserved only for him. "Your hair!" Naruto pointed out. He was so used to her long hair that the shoulder-length hair was foreign to him once again.

"What do you think? Reminds you of when I cut ties with the past and proved how strong I was, ne?" As Sakura spoke, her eyes never left Kakashi's. It was almost like she was waiting for his approval.

With that, Kakashi smiled softly at the short-haired beauty. He always liked her with short hair better.

* * *

**Hello beautiful people! (:**

**Happy Sunday! Hope you guys had a wonderful week, loves, and hope tomorrow will do you well. **

**Uploading this two days late because I twisted my ankle and I think the rest is explanatory. I should be fine though if I rest my foot. By the way, I'm excited to move in to college by Friday! I will be uploading this week though even through all the excitement.**

**BUT**

**Thanks so much for reading, and if you're enjoying the story so far (and reading this nonsense), no secret word this week, but I hope you had a fantastic week and if you didn't, hope this upcoming week treats you well!**

**x**


	5. Tenderness

**Title:** Fix a Heart

**Summary:** She affected all others around her, especially him. Quietly touching his lone heart, she saved him from himself. Drabble-esque.

**Author:** CryingInsideOut

**Rating:** T/PG-13

**Genre: **Romance

**Pairing:** kakasaku

**Word Count: **735

**Prompt #5: She ****was kind, loving, and patient… with herself. Celebrate her tenderness.**

* * *

After a grueling mission with Ino and Hinata as her teammates and Kakashi as the captain of the team, the group decided that it would be a good idea to set up camp. Hinata made use of herself and went to collect firewood for the campfire while Ino set up the sleeping bags. Meanwhile, Kakashi and Sakura scouted the area for any signs of danger.

As the four settled down in front of the campfire, they chatted aimlessly and snacked on dried food. The three girls inched closer to the fire as a breeze blew by, rustling the forest leaves and chilling the kunoichis.

Kakashi sat a few inches away, letting the three catch up and chit chat as he did not want to interfere. However, although not voicing his own opinions about whether Shikamaru was a lazy bastard or not, he did pay quite the attention towards a certain pink-haired medic nin.

The copy nin whipped out his trusty book and pretended to read, but hooded eyes watched Sakura's every move carefully. Within fifteen minutes into the conversation between the three girls, he noticed that although Sakura was chattering animatedly, he saw that each time Ino or Hinata shook their long hair out of their faces, she would touch her own hair almost self-consciously. This continued on for another ten minutes.

But each time it was different. The second quirk Kakashi noted was that when Ino had called Sakura by her nickname ("Don't be stupid, Forehead!"), Sakura would laugh along, but rest her head against her hand, her palm slightly blocking the view of her forehead.

The third quirk was when Sakura changed the subject and brought up the topic about the color of her friends' eyes. He listened as she gushed about how gorgeous the color of their eyes were. Ino and Hinata also offered exchanges about how pretty her eyes were too, but the kunoichi meekly waved away their compliments.

As the wind grew harsher, Hinata and Ino bid Sakura a goodnight before snuggling into their sleeping bags in attempt to block out the winds. Sakura poked at the fire, hoping to keep it from blowing or burning out. She then walked up to Kakashi and sat down next to him.

"Ne, Sensei," she began and Kakashi hummed in response. "You can go to bed. I'll take first shift of lookout." Kakashi merely ignored her, and Sakura understood this as that he would stay up with her anyways no matter how hard she tried to persuade him to go to bed.

The two sat in comfortable silence for a while, the only sound of the howling wind, the turning of pages, and the sighs coming out of Sakura breaking the silence. When Sakura let out a sigh for the fifth time, Kakashi set down his book and turned to face his student.

"What's wrong?" he asked, startling her. Apparently the kunoichi had been deep in troubling thoughts and the sudden voice made her jump.

"Ano," she began and twiddled her thumbs meekly. At this gesture, Kakashi quirked a brow. He had never seen his female student this shy before. "I was just thinking about how different Ino and Hinata are. They're both from such prestigious clans and they're both so pretty and popular. I was just thinking about how much of a misfit I am." She gave a wry laugh, eyes refusing to lock onto her teacher's.

Kakashi didn't bother to answer. Instead, he went right back to reading. Sakura sat there for a little longer before she stood up and brushed herself off.

"I'm going to bed," she called. Before she could walk, however, Kakashi finally spoke.

"If you want to be half as confident as Ino and Hinata are, you must first love yourself, be patient with yourself, be kind to yourself, and appreciate what you have and are. Frankly, I think your pink hair is cheerful, your button of a nose is cute, and your eyes are eccentric. Isn't that enough, Sakura?"

He expected her to continue the small walk to her sleeping bag. Instead, he felt her sit right back down and lean her head against the nape of his neck.

"Arigatou ne, Kaka-sensei. For reminding me to be patient with myself. And for giving me confidence."

His heart skipped a beat as the warmth of Sakura's lips brushed a chaste kiss onto the apple of his cheek.

* * *

**Hello beautiful people! (:**

**Happy Friday! Hope you guys had a wonderful week, loves.**

**I'm getting ready to move into college, so a quick update before I hit the road. I'm super close with my family but I'm also kind of dependent so this is going to be interesting. My guess would be is that I would be fine within the first two weeks of living alone, but then I'm going to start missing my family after those two weeks. Good news is that I'm close enough to go home during the weekends. I guess we'll have to see! **

**BUT**

**Thanks so much for reading, and if you're enjoying the story so far (and reading this nonsense), I'd love to get to know more about my readers. How do you guys like the story so far, and which one is your favorite so far?**

**x**


	6. Spirit

**Title:** Fix a Heart

**Summary:** She affected all others around her, especially him. Quietly touching his lone heart, she saved him from himself. Drabble-esque.

**Author:** cryinginsideout

**Rating:** T/PG-13

**Genre: **Romance

**Pairing:** kakasaku

**Word Count: **678

**Note: **_Hanami _is the Sakura Festival that takes part in Japan.

**Prompt #6: She ****realized she was missing a great deal of things by being sensible. Celebrate her spirit.**

* * *

Kakashi strolled the streets of Konoha, and with each step he took, he noticed the posters that hung outside shops and on poles. Curiosity killed the cat, so Kakashi silently walked up to the poster taped to the window of the Yamanaka Flower Shop to see what the buzz was about. He was greeted by the advertisement of the hanami that was to take place today.

"Ah! Kakashi-sensei!" Kakashi looked up from the poster and watched as the blonde-haired blue-eyed beauty waved at him through the glass window. He raised a hand as a greeting and prepared to set off back to his apartment, but the Yamanaka stopped him.

She hurriedly gave the ribbon one last tug on the bouquet of flowers she was preparing and brought it outside with her.

"Ne, since you're already here, do you mind if you drop this off for Sakura? She's been stuck at the hospital for three days straight, and I thought that she would enjoy having fresh flowers to look at rather than the bland walls." Ino gave the older man a grin and thrust the bouquet into his hands before he could come up with an excuse to say no. With a waggle of her eyebrows, the mischievous girl ran back into her shop while hollering a thank you.

Kakashi sighed and decided that he might as well change courses and head towards the building he hated the most. When he neared the entrance of the building, he noticed that flyers for the cherry blossom festival were also stuck on the doors. His lips quirked into a small smile as he thought about his own pink-haired student. With the thought in mind, he walked right in and asked for the medic nin.

"Kakashi-sensei! What are you doing here?" Sakura gasped as she watched her ex-sensei knock on the office door once.

"Yo. Ino told me you were stuck in this hell hole for three days. She got you some flowers and also wanted to remind you of the hanami that's happening today." So the last part was a lie, but Kakashi wondered vaguely if the kunoichi was even aware of the festival with her same namesake that was happening.

"Oh shoot. I totally forgot about the hanami. Can you do me a favor and tell Ino-pig that I can't make it? I have to finish these reports or Tsunade-shishou will have my head." Sakura pushed back her chair and accepted the sunflowers from Kakashi. She smiled and thanked him. "These look beautiful. They'll definitely give my office some color."

"Aren't you overworking yourself a bit?" Kakashi asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he watched Sakura discard the wilted daisies into the trashcan and replace them with the sunflowers. It seemed as if Ino often dropped by with different flowers for her friend.

"I'd rather overwork myself than turn myself in to Shishou without completing my work," Sakura snorted and sat back down, picking up her pen.

"The festival. We should go," Kakashi found himself saying. He mentally cursed as he watched his ex-pupil drop her pen and stare at him with her doe-like eyes.

"B-but the report," she responded weakly, and it was then that Kakashi knew she wanted to go to the festival all along. He grabbed her by her elbow and towed her out of her office. She complied without any complaints.

"It can wait. Tsunade can yell at me if she wants someone to yell at. We need to get you some dango right away." He never let go of her arm, but Sakura didn't pull away or say anything either. In fact, she looped her own arms around Kakashi's.

"Hai, hai! Lead the way, Sensei!" she giggled happily as they walked into fresh air. Kakashi watched as she drew in a deep breath, smiling at the cherry blossom petals that fluttered to the ground. "I suppose there's more important things like friendship and happiness and dango than the boring hospital walls. Ne, Kaka-sensei?"

"Hai, Sakura-chan. Especially if you're paying for the dango."

"Sensei!"

* * *

**Hello hello, my beautiful people! (:**

**Is it really another week already? Time flies so fast!**

**New updates straight from my dorm room in college! I can't believe I've been living in college for about a week already. I love it so much here. I love my roommate so much already and the people in my hall are so fun to hang out with. Barely started classes yesterday, so still going to take some time to figure out where my classes are located at, haha.**

**BUT**

**Thanks so much for reading, and if you're enjoying the story so far (and reading this nonsense), I'm genuinely curious. Are any of my readers in college? Or high school or middle school maybe? Or possibly done with school already? If you're in college, let me know what you studied! I think it would be cool to know, and if you aren't in college yet, what would you like to study when you do get into college?**

**x**


	7. Goals

**Title:** Fix a Heart

**Summary:** She affected all others around her, especially him. Quietly touching his lone heart, she saved him from himself. Drabble-esque.

**Author:** cryinginsideout

**Rating:** T/PG-13

**Genre: **Romance

**Pairing:** kakasaku

**Word Count: **695

**Prompt #7: ****She turned her can'ts into cans, and her dreams into plans. Celebrate her goals.**

* * *

With his nose in his book, Kakashi wandered the busy streets of Konoha with ease. Somehow the copy nin always knew when to step over a puddle or walk around a villager with heavy crates obscuring his view. Although quite skilled with walking and not necessarily needing the vision to see where he was going, Kakashi was not quite skilled enough to dodge the woman and her daughter walking towards his way.

"Kakashi-san," he heard and eventually, he took his eyes off his book. He was greeted with a woman who looked like an older version of his favorite female student with the exception of the strawberry blonde bun the woman was sporting.

"Haruno-san," he greeted back politely. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed said favorite pupil standing next to her mother, a look of mortification written on her face. He eyed her weirdly, and it was only then when she made a quick gesture at the orange book in his hand. Snorting inwardly, Kakashi bookmarked his page and stuffed the paperback into his pouch.

"How are you, Kakashi-san? Sakura-chan hasn't mentioned you in a while after she rose in the shinobi ranks." Sakura's mother smiled tenderly, shifting the basket full of groceries from one hand to another.

"I've been well, thank you. And I presume you are well, also?" Kakashi asked back politely. He noticed that both of the Harunos' hands were full, so the copy nin asked if he could help with the basket of food. "Would you two like some help?"

"No, we're good, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura blurted out, cheeks flushing. Kakashi eyed her wearily, noting her strange behavior. Her mother, however gave her daughter a scornful look and gratefully accepted the silver-haired man's help.

"Please, stay for dinner tonight. We would love to have you over, ne, Sakura-chan?" Sakura blanched at her mother's idea as the three of them made it back to the Haruno household. Kakashi was mildly amused at her reactions.

"K-kakashi-sensei is busy though, right?" Sakura asked, nervously nibbling on her lower lip. Her eyes pleaded Kakashi to decline the offer. However, Kakashi wanted to know why Sakura was acting so weird.

"Actually, I'd love to stay for dinner." He smiled beneath his mask as Sakura banged her head on the wall.

When dinner was finally prepared and the trio sat at the table, they gave their thanks and began to dig into their food.

"My husband is currently away and Sakura-chan hardly visits me anymore, so I'm grateful to have the two of you with me tonight," Sakura's mother said and smiled gratefully at the man sitting across from Sakura.

"It's a pleasure to dine with the two of you, Haruno-san," Kakashi managed to choke out ignoring Sakura who glared menacingly at him.

"You know, having you here takes me back to the time when Sakura was a genin. Oh boy, she used to come home from training with so many scratches and nicks. You sure went hard on them." Sakura's mother laughed. Out of the corner of his eye, Kakashi watched as Sakura groaned out loud. "Sakura used to be so fragile back then. I could hardly believe her when she told me she wanted to be a kunoichi!" At that, her mother laughed once more.

"Kaasan!" Sakura whined, cheeks flaring up. Kakashi finally understood why Sakura didn't want him over. It must've been because her mother always brought up her genin days.

"Maa," Kakashi began, placing his chopstick down, "Sakura's truly become a wonderful kunoichi. She's definitely not the weak little girl she once was, ne, Sakura?" Sakura watched, wide-eyed as her teacher continued to compliment her.

"She sure proved everyone wrong. She always told me she wanted to become stronger and on the same level as her colleagues, and she's definitely on par. In fact, Sakura should be very proud that she caught the attention of the Godaime and trained under her. I know I'm proud of you, Sakura."

As Sakura's mother listened intently to his praise, Kakashi eyed the beaming girl across from him. Instead of dying from embarrassment, the kunoichi was now flushing from praise and acknowledgment from her savior.

* * *

**Hello! (:**

**Time management is kind of hard right now, haha.**

**Thank goodness it's a Friday today! I'm so tired, I could probably nap in a bit. In fact, I should probably do that after I go out for dinner with some of my hallmates because we're going to be watching Semi-Finals for League of Legends Championship Games at around 1 AM my time.**

**BUT**

**Thanks so much for reading, and if you're enjoying the story so far (and reading this nonsense), anyone got any tips for time management? Hopefully I can learn a few things and apply it to my busy schedule now!**

**P.S. I LOVED reading your comments about what major you took in college or how you already finished school already. Made me feel a little more connected to you guys. (:**

**x**


	8. Independence

**Title:** Fix a Heart

**Summary:** She affected all others around her, especially him. Quietly touching his lone heart, she saved him from himself. Drabble-esque.

**Author:** cryinginsideout

**Rating:** T/PG-13

**Genre: **Romance

**Pairing:** kakasaku

**Word Count: **692

**Prompt #8: ****She ignored people who said it couldn't be done. Celebrate her independence.**

* * *

Sakura hated it when it rained during the summer. Summer rain in Konoha meant humid weather that made her sticky whenever she trained outdoors. Sakura especially hated the rain that pelted down to the earth on this particular day. Because on this rainy Saturday, Ino came home from a mission. Instead of the celebratory lunch the two had agreed upon when the blonde came home, Sakura was greeted with an unconscious blonde covered in dried mud.

Kakashi watched as Sakura pounded through the rain and sped towards the hospital. He watched as the rain that sprinkled down meshed with the tears that slid down her face. He watched as the medic nin frantically pushed people aside, not caring that mud splattered all over her toes. Kakashi watched as Sakura cried for Ino to wait for her.

For the next two weeks, it continued to storm. Thunder rumbled through the air, and the rain fell in even patters. A bleary-eyed kunoichi sat next to her childhood friend. Sakura ran fingers through Ino's tangled hair, her hand ending up cupping her friend's much paler one.

Kakashi makes sure to visit both Sakura and Ino every day, bringing his student a bento because he knows that she isn't eating while she sat next to the silent blonde every hour of the day.

"She's in a coma," Kakashi murmurs, and Sakura glares at him, almost as if hurt by his choice of words. "But it doesn't mean she can't hear you," he finishes, unfazed by the glare. He unboxes the bento and hands it to his female companion, chopsticks in tow. Sakura weakly picks at her food.

"What do I do, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asks, and judging by the strain in her voice, Kakashi knows she's about to cry. "Shishou says she's been hit by a genjutsu and she's now rendered unconscious. But there's nothing we can do if we don't know what genjutsu was used."

Kakashi eyes his heartbroken student sadly as she begins to spoon the rice into her mouth. His heart aches as Sakura cries throughout her entire meal. She sniffles and swipes at her eyes, but the tears continue to flow down and mix with the food she spoons into her mouth. He hasn't seen tears like those ever since Sasuke had left.

"I'm one of the best skilled medics in Konoha, and I can't even do anything to save my best friend," she says over and over again. Kakashi finally intervenes, pulling the bento away from her death grip and setting it aside. The crying Sakura reminds him of when she was twelve, innocent and naïve. He crouches down next to her and places a hand on top of her head, patting her. She continues to hiccup and rub at her eyes like a child.

"Are you going to let them tell you that there's nothing you can do?" he questions. The room is silent save for the occasional sobs and the beeps from Ino's steady heart machine. "Are you going to let them bring you down as well? Ino is your best friend, so shouldn't you be doing something rather than sitting here rotting with her? Don't you think it's time you became independent and persuade yourself that there _is _something you can do?"

"H-huh?" Sakura asks through sniffles. Tears are still streaming down her face, but her eyes are wide open as she looks at Kakashi with such pitiful eyes.

"You're Sakura-chan, the most badass kunoichi I know. It's time you ignored the pitiful stares people give you and do what can't be done," Kakashi says firmly. Slowly, the hiccups stop, and the tears dry as time passes on.

Days pass, and Kakashi continues to bring in lunch for the pink-haired kunoichi. However, instead of seeing the sight of a crestfallen young lady upon entering the room, he sees a determined and headstrong medic nin running tests and studying researches in hopes of saving her friend from the grasp of Death.

It isn't long until Sakura breaks down in front of Kakashi from the flutter of eyelashes as Sleeping Beauty opens her eyes after a long time of deep slumber.

* * *

**Hello! (:**

**Time management is kicking my butt. Sorry for not uploading for 2 weeks straight!**

**Fridays are definitely my busiest days for this quarter but I'm definitely doing my best to find time to manage my writing, classes, homework, and friends.**

**BUT**

**Thanks so much for reading, and if you're enjoying the story so far (and reading this nonsense), happy halloweenie! Is anyone dressing up as anything? What are your plans/what did you do for Halloween (if you celebrate and are reading this after Halloween is over)?**

**P.S. Shout out to Prescripto13 for always giving me some wonderful feedback on every chapter so far, for being so patient and kind, and for giving me tips and for just making my days. (:**

**x**


	9. Magic

**Title:** Fix a Heart

**Summary:** She affected all others around her, especially him. Quietly touching his lone heart, she saved him from himself. Drabble-esque.

**Author:** cryinginsideout

**Rating:** T/PG-13

**Genre: **Romance

**Pairing:** kakasaku

**Word Count: **905

**Prompt #9: ****She had a way of turning obstacles into opportunities. Celebrate her magic.**

* * *

It felt like it was just three days ago when Sakura had passed her Jounin exams, but in reality, it had been a little over a year. So when Sakura had happily told him that she registered for the ANBU exams, Kakashi's answer was a stern and blunt 'no.'

"Why not?" Sakura argued back, now furious as her teacher nonchalantly bookmarked his favorite novel to put away. He gave her a weary look before answering her.

"Being in ANBU comes with huge responsibility, and frankly, I'm not sure you're ready for that scene of action." He watched as Sakura's face changed to a scowl.

"Who are you to tell me that?" Sakura snapped back, "Tsunade-shishou thinks I'm more than ready. And everyone else is taking it – Shikamaru, Neji, Kiba, Ino, and hell, even Naruto! I didn't hear you forbid Naruto from registering for it!"

"Because Naruto is different! And Tsunade just wants to spare your feelings by saying you're qualification ready. Naruto is ready for this. I've seen him in action, and I know he's ready," Kakashi barked, trying his best to calm himself down. As soon as the words left his mouth, however, he quickly regret it; he wished he could take it all back as he watched his only female student flinch at every word he spat out.

"I didn't know you thought so little of me," Sakura whispered, tears welling in her eyes. "Especially coming from someone like you. I always knew you favored Sasuke and Naruto over me." With a huff, Sakura turned and stormed away. Both Kakashi and Sakura herself knew that she was only using the guilt card against him because of her current bitterness and didn't truly mean any of it.

"Sakura, wait!" Kakashi sighed, but he watched helplessly as she fled. "I didn't mean all that," he muttered before cursing himself angrily.

The next two months passed in a blur. Neither former members of Team 7 spoke to each other or even acknowledged one another whenever they passed by in the streets. Although not speaking to each other, Kakashi had learned through gossip of others that Sakura was rising fast and impressing everyone with how well her training with the Hokage was going.

Soon enough, the week of ANBU exams had finally arrived. The entire exam consisted of three stages an applicant had to go through: a written test, a genjutsu test in which they had to escape one, and the physical test where they had to fight against one captain from the many ANBU squads.

Word spread rapidly like fire through the Hidden Village of Leaf, and Kakashi soon heard that both of his former students had passed with flying colors (well, Naruto could've done better on his written exams, but at least he passed). At the ceremony, the copy nin decided to show up to congratulate them.

By the time he made it to the Hokage Towers, there was already a large crowd of the people, both shinobi and villagers. He heard Naruto whooping loudly and chatting animatedly to all the other applicants who passed. Kakashi decided that he would congratulate the blonde later by treating him out to ramen. He assumed that Sakura was still angry at him (frankly, he was angry at himself as well), so he turned to leave unnoticed. Or that was the plan until he spotted a familiar pink-haired kunoichi wave thanks to someone who congratulated her.

Green apple locked onto charcoal gray. Sakura pursed her lips and shifted her eyes away. Kakashi sighed and continued his way out of the throng of people. However, before he could take an extra step, the newly-promoted ANBU walked towards him.

"Kakashi… Sensei," she whispered. Kakashi's eyes widened slightly at the honorific attached to his name. Sakura bit her lip and wrung her hands in front of her, nervously.

"I'm sorry," they both apologized at the same time. Eyes locked once again, and this time, Sakura's lips quivered into a small smile as did Kakashi's.

"I didn't mean any of what I said to you back then. I truly regret it all," Kakashi admitted. "And congratulations, Sakura."

"Why did you say it then?" Sakura murmured. He could tell she was still slightly hurt at the saltiness Kakashi had thrown towards her when she came forward with news about joining ANBU.

Kakashi sighed and ran a hand tiredly through his silver hair. "I didn't want you to grow up so fast."

"Huh? Everyone grows up, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura broke out into a grin, her laughter twinkling in his ears.

"No, that's not what I meant," he interrupted, face serious. Sakura stopped giggling and threw him a confused look. "By growing up, I meant that I didn't want to expose you to the ANBU world. It's much more rigorous and serious than other ranks of being a shinobi, Sakura. Being an ANBU is less mundane and more gore. I didn't want you to lose your innocence." There. He said it. Finally. It was like the weight of the world was lifted from his shoulders.

"Oh, Sensei." Sakura placed a warm hand on his shoulder. "Arigatou, ne. But I'll be fine. Do you know why?" When Kakashi didn't answer, she laughed.

"I'll be fine, because I requested you to be my Taichou!" With another sweet laugh from Sakura, Kakashi sighed, but this time amused.

This girl seriously knew how to turn obstacles into opportunities.

"Douzo yoroshiku, kohai."

* * *

**Happy Friday (:**

**I think I'm going to have to start posting chapters every 2 weeks. Feeling like there's just not enough time in the day. Bleh. I'm sorry. ):**

**BUT**

**I hope you guys are still enjoying the drabbles so far! Not much to say today in this author's note, so I'm going to stop my rambling!**

**Terminology:**

**Taichou - Captain**

**Douzo yoroshiku - Very pleased to make your acquaintance**

**Kohai - Junior**

**x**


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